Non-orthogonal multiple access transmission

Abstract

A method for non-orthogonal multiple access (NoMA) transmission is provided. In an embodiment, a method in a network device for transmission of a NoMA signal includes obtaining information bits. The method also includes transmitting the NoMA signal. The NoMA signal includes one or more layers. The NoMA signal is generated according to the information bits and according to a set of signal processing operations selected from a plurality of signal processing operations. At least one of the set of signal processing operations is layer-specific or UE-specific or a combination thereof.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method in a network device for transmission of a non-orthogonal multiple access (NoMA) signal comprising:
 obtaining information bits; and 
 transmitting the NoMA signal, the NoMA signal comprising one or more layers, and the NoMA signal generated according to the information bits and according to a set of signal processing operations selected from a plurality of signal processing operations, wherein the set of signal processing operations comprises at least one layer-specific and user equipment (UE)-specific operation that performs: 
 at least one of bit-level interleaving or bit-level scrambling; 
 modulated symbol sequence generating; 
 symbol sequence pre-coding; and 
 waveform modulation. 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the set of signal processing operations is network specific. 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the set of signal processing operations used for generating the NoMA signal comprises at least one of a layer-specific bit level multiplexing signal processing operation or a layer-specific symbol level multiplexing signal processing operation. 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the transmitting of the NoMA signal comprises transmitting the NoMA signal in an uplink direction from at least one UE to a network receiver. 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 4 , wherein the at least one UE makes a decision of which signal processing operations to select without input from a network. 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the transmitting of the NoMA signal comprises selecting the set of signal processing operations from the plurality of signal processing operations based on at least one of:
 an application specific scenario; 
 a physical layer requirement for NoMA transmission; or 
 a key parameter indicator (KPI). 
 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 6 , wherein the physical layer requirement for the NoMA transmission include at least one of:
 a spectral efficiency of the NoMA signal; 
 a modulation and coding scheme for the NoMA signal; 
 a peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR); or 
 a channel attribute of the NoMA signal. 
 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the transmitting of the NoMA signal, further comprises configuring one or more of the set of signal processing operations to meet one or more performance requirements. 
     
     
       9. The method of  claim 8 , where the one or more performance requirements include at least one performance requirement related to:
 a signal coverage; 
 a system connection density; or 
 a spectral efficiency. 
 
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the set of signal processing operations further comprises at least one operation that performs at least one of symbol-to-transmission unit mapping or symbol to resource element (RE) mapping. 
     
     
       11. A user equipment (UE) configured to transmit a non-orthogonal multiple access (NoMA) signal, the UE comprising:
 at least one antenna; 
 a processor; and 
 computer readable storage media having stored thereon computer executable instructions, that when executed by the processor, perform a method comprising:
 obtaining information bits; and 
 transmitting the NoMA signal, the NoMA signal comprising one or more layers, and the NoMA signal generated according to the information bits and according to a set of signal processing operations selected from a plurality of signal processing operations, wherein the set of signal processing operations comprises at least one layer-specific and UE-specific operation that performs: 
 at least one of bit-level interleaving or bit-level scrambling; 
 modulated symbol sequence generating; 
 symbol sequence pre-coding; and 
 waveform modulation. 
 
 
     
     
       12. The UE of  claim 11 , wherein at least one of the set of signal processing operations is network specific. 
     
     
       13. The UE of  claim 11 , wherein the set of signal processing operations used for generating the NoMA signal comprises at least one of a layer-specific bit level multiplexing signal processing operation or a layer-specific symbol level multiplexing signal processing operation. 
     
     
       14. The UE of  claim 11 , wherein the transmitting of the NoMA signal comprises transmitting the NoMA signal in an uplink direction from at least one UE to a network receiver. 
     
     
       15. The UE of  claim 14 , wherein the at least one UE makes a decision of which signal processing operations to select without input from a network. 
     
     
       16. The UE of  claim 11 , wherein the transmitting of the NoMA signal comprises selecting the set of signal processing operations from the plurality of signal processing operations based on at least one of:
 an application specific scenario; 
 a physical layer requirement for NoMA transmission; or 
 a key parameter indicator (KPI). 
 
     
     
       17. The UE of  claim 16 , wherein the physical layer requirement for the NoMA transmission include at least one of:
 a spectral efficiency of the NoMA signal; 
 a modulation and coding scheme for the NoMA signal; 
 a peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR); or 
 a channel attribute of the NoMA signal. 
 
     
     
       18. The UE of  claim 11 , wherein the transmitting of the NoMA signal further comprises configuring one or more of the set of signal processing operations to meet one or more performance requirements. 
     
     
       19. The UE of  claim 18 , where the one or more performance requirements include at least one performance requirement related to:
 a signal coverage; 
 a system connection density; or 
 a spectral efficiency. 
 
     
     
       20. The UE of  claim 11 , wherein the set of signal processing operations further comprises at least one operation that performs at least one of symbol-to-transmission unit mapping or symbol to resource element (RE) mapping.